December 2, 2018

"The remains of former President George Herbert Walker Bush will return to Washington in the most dramatic and distinguished fashion possible, occupying the plane that normally serves as Air Force One."

"President Donald Trump told reporters of the plan aboard the aircraft as they returned from the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 'So what we’re doing with the plane – we land, and then they come in, and these are great people that run these aircraft. They are unbelievable,' he said. 'And they’re taking apart – I don’t think this section. The section up front, They’re taking all of the seats out. ... We’re sending the plane, this plane, to Houston. And it picks up the casket.'"

The Daily Mail reports.

50 comments:

FWBuff said...

Very respectful and the right thing to do.

rhhardin said...

The company had a DC-6 charter that was reconfigured for this many seats and that much cargo every flight. Sometimes you found a huge cabin and sometimes a very tiny one when you flew on it.

rhhardin said...

Trump is playing the Bush card. I don't think his base is demanding it. United Parcel like Nixon would have worked.

rhhardin said...

A friend long ago had a Piper Cherokee Six that he flew coffins around in for a living. Funeral directors were his customers. Get the stiff from here to there.

The Godfather said...

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think I see a few signs of Trump getting his worser demons under control. Sending AF-1 for 41 was a no-brainer, but I don't think he's tweeted any digs at the living Bushes lately, has he?

Obviously he's campaigning for 2020. Perhaps he's concluded that nasty Trump didn't play as well as he'd hoped in the mid-term. "Kinder, gentler" didn't work all that well for Bush in 1992, but it might work as a surprise tactic for Trump.

Big Mike said...

A C-17 would have been more practical, but AF1 is better optics.

David Begley said...

Well done, Mr. President. Well done.

stephen cooper said...

This (sending Air Force One, no matter the cost) is right because, last week , there were about 10 living WWII USA celebrities whose names most people know (Bush, Tony Bennett, Mel Brooks, Bob Dole, Herman Wouk, Morgenthau (the NYC federal prosecutor) - are the ones I know without looking them up . Now there is one less, and the one that died was the most famous.

Treating the remains of Lt Bush, whatever he did later in life, with respect is just simple respect for those who came before us. It is not about Lt Bush so much as it is about the millions who died fighting in the war he fought in, or in later wars, or who survived those wars but who were buried with less respect and honor than was due to them.

When I die (this is in my will) the funeral mass will be at 6 AM on another continent, where nobody knows me or cares about me much - my remains will not be sent there, but will stay in the morgue until the crematorium professionals come by to collect - and I will be buried at Quantico, in one of those things they call a columbarium, a couple years after my day of death, with no advance notice so that nobody's day is bothered. Two things can go wrong with this plan - someone objects to having the ashes of my pets mixed with my ashes, in which case one of my nephews or nieces is going to drop all of our urns - me and the beloved pets - off the side of a boat in the Atlantic, with no witnesses. Or the world can end and none of us will be buried.

Bush and me are different, I never wanted to be a politician of his kind.

stephen cooper said...

The one time I went to war, President Bush - this was in 1990/1991 - was the Commander in Chief, so we have that in common.
He was in a war when someone else was Commander in Chief, and so was I.
He came much much much closer to dying in a war than me, though.

Etienne said...

Put him in a aluminum casket and ship his ass to Washington on a C-130 with the back door open. No modifications necessary.

Hell, they can even air drop it with a parachute for his last jump.

Dave Begley said...

Etienne

Brutal. Have you no decency?

Original Mike said...

I guess Etienne thinks he's funny.

Ambrose said...

Interesting we had to rely on the Daily Mail for the story.

Humperdink said...

Not a fan of GHWB, but he deserves our respect. Especially for his military exploits.

@Etienne, putting it mildly, your comments are rather disgusting.

Kevin said...

Of course this is an article by the British press.

Trump sent Air Force Two for McCain.

I'm sure the US press will give the same amount of positive coverage for sending AF1 for Bush.

Not an oldster. said...

War service has nothing to do with this . He was an ex president, Stephen. Not you. Big difference. Let the bushes try and criticize him now. They are gone as of Thursday and it costs Trump nothing now to play nice. I imagine if Bill Clinton dies on his watch Trump would do the same out of respect for the office and be especially gracious to a Window Hillary too as a former first lady, her legacy.

AMDG said...

Number 2 for McCain! Nice troll.

stephen cooper said...
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Not an oldster. said...

And they're not going to lower any flags at your death for your real military service or honor your wishes. Best share your private plans typed up here with your next of kin to carry out.

stephen cooper said...
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Not an oldster. said...

Only 45 residents none named Stephen Cooper. Did you suffer a disabling head injury in your service?

stephen cooper said...
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Narayanan said...

Time Travel with Daily Mail

**Nixon, too, saw his last flight's callsign changed. Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as Nixon jetted above Missouri on his way home to California, after he resigned the presidency**

stephen cooper said...
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Bruce Hayden said...

**Nixon, too, saw his last flight's callsign changed. Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as Nixon jetted above Missouri on his way home to California, after he resigned the presidency**

I think that was Gerald Ford, not LBJ. LBJ was right before Nixon, not after him. And he assumed the Presidency after JFK was assignated.

stephen cooper said...
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narciso said...

Wow, Stephen cooper i had no idea, i was dinged up once or twice in minor accidents years ago, but that is a game changer.

mockturtle said...
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mockturtle said...

Godfather muses: Obviously he's campaigning for 2020. Perhaps he's concluded that nasty Trump didn't play as well as he'd hoped in the mid-term. "Kinder, gentler" didn't work all that well for Bush in 1992, but it might work as a surprise tactic for Trump.

The midterms were less a referendum on Trump than on the GOP establishment.

narciso said...

Yes there were a few stalwart trump supporters like rohrabacker went down but most had run away, from the trump agenda.

YoungHegelian said...

Sometimes, simple images can carry great emotion.

President Bush's Service Dog Keeps Watch.

stephen cooper said...
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stephen cooper said...
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Etienne said...
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stephen cooper said...

Narciso (at 9:04) - I am glad your accidents (plural?) only dinged you up, I fully recovered too, after a few months, so I am thankful for that. Safe self-driving cars are something to look forward to (I deleted my earlier comments about an auto accident I had , too long for what I wanted to say ....).
Anyway, Trump is doing the right thing by Bush, who is of course both an ex-president and a veteran.

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AllenS said...
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AllenS said...

When Etienne isn't commenting here, he's writing for Saturday Night Live.

tim in vermont said...

He’s a better funeral director than his funeral directors!

tim in vermont said...

Disgusting. Americans are sheep.

I think Ettienne’s problem with Americans is that we aren’t sheep. Look at the blood and treasure we wasted “liberating” France. But at least now the French are somewhat more tractable.

GRW3 said...

Wow, this thread is sort of like coming up on a major crash after the dust has settled and all that is left is a debris field...

This is an important gesture, very American. I suspect he would do the same for Carter.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Trump has learned that there is no reason to be rude without purpose

Freder Frederson said...

Actually there are two planes used as Air Force One. So they don't need to bust their asses cleaning out all the Big Mac wrappers before they send it down to Houston.

Etienne said...
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LA_Bob said...

The Drill SGT said, "Maybe Trump has learned that there is no reason to be rude without purpose".

He's known it all along. Don't forget what he said about the Clintons on Inauguration Day, 2017. When they walked into the breakfast, or whatever it was, Trump pointed them out and said, "I have a lot of respect for those people".

Bob from Alhambra